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Lamb and veg

Some of the best eating I’ve done in recent years was in Portland, Maine, so it was not surprise to read of an effort to bring chefs and farmers together to preserve heirloom vegetable varieties. This was an early report in what all parties hope will be a long collaboration, and I wish them well.

“Our goals are to raise awareness of the issues surrounding heirloom vegetables, build markets, and with this pilot project, build a template to do similar things throughout the country.”

I hope they’ll check the names of all the varieties they’re growing; I spotted at least one mistake in the few varieties named in the article. And while it doesn’t talk about the island-reared lamb that Portland is so famous for, Danny at Rurality posted a link to a campaign to save rare breeds of sheep, by eating them.

Use it or lose it applies to Westerners with fat wallets as much as to the rest of the world.

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Sunken billions

A new World Bank publication puts dollar numbers on the world’s approach to fishing:

Economic losses in marine fisheries resulting from poor management, inefficiencies, and overfishing add up to US$50 billion per year.

The book argues that:

strengthened fishing rights can provide fishers and fishing communities with incentives to operate in an economically efficient and socially responsible manner.

I presume it would help conserve marine biodiversity as well.

Also just out is the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2008, from FAO. Part 1 is a very informative and data rich overview. FAO estimates that 80% of fisheries are fully or over-exploited, and that 47% of fish consumed is from aquaculture (which must become more sustainable, says the WWF).

Part 2 has a chapter on Marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction as related to marine biodiversity and the sustainable use of living marine resources. It is about bio-prospecting in international waters, and benefit sharing. They are looking at the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture to help develop policy in this area.

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Pisco punched

A blog post at Alcademics.com precipitated a very educational bit of surfing yesterday. I found out about the existence of E Clampus Vitus, a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of the heritage of the Old West, which of course includes its drinks. I found out that there’s a drink called pisco punch, which I now desperately want to taste. I found out that there’s a dispute between Chile and Peru over the name “pisco.” And I found out that the deadly Pisco earthquake of 2007 destroyed most wineries in the area, though the vineyards (the grape used to make pisco is mainly muscat, but there are other varieties as well) themselves largely survived. What I haven’t been able to find out is how the rebuilding is going. A year ago the news was not good. You can still find pisco on the shelves, so I guess the wineries are back in action. Or is it mainly the Chilean stuff?

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Pesticide brigades

It is well established that brown plant hopper outbreaks in rice are caused by the use of pesticides. So why do farmers and their advisers spray even more when there is an outbreak?

According to this post on the Ricehoppers blog, it might be because plant protection services (in Vietnam) operate like fire brigade services, equipped for rapid response and control. And because, for the people leading these services, it is better to do the wrong thing (spray) then to be perceived as not acting (and perhaps lose their job).

Perhaps, like modern fire brigades, plant protection services will be able to shift their emphasis to prevention. And, like modern fire-ecologists, learn to let the occasional outbreak run its course.